On Tuesday, September 18th 2018, I visited multiple places on the West Side of Manhattan.  The art that I found in the streets of Manhattan and inside of galleries sparked emotions within me due to the messages behind the works of art.

(Disclaimer: Horror in Pink #1 and #2 are very graphic, violent and may be a trigger for some. Please view with caution)

After looking at galleries all afternoon, my friends and I arrived at the Tyler Rollins Fine Art Gallery in Chelsea.  We found the Manit Sriwanichpoom exhibition where we stayed for a very long time trying to understand what was happening, and what the artist was trying to say in this exhibit. We finally arrived to the back of the room where we saw “Horror in Pink #1” and “Horror in Pink #2”. We were horrified (no pun intended); how could an artist choose these black and white photographs from a massacre and then add on his character, the Pink Man, in vivid colors. I looked for an explanation, I didn’t understand the purpose and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to understand. Sriwanichpoom used these photos to show the hypocrisy of the Thai government, where the slogan is “Land of Smiles” while they refuse to mention this government-lead massacre in textbooks.

The Pink Man is a silent witness to these murders. In these photographs there is no one fighting back, there are only bystanders; some people are even laughing while watching. I feel like this art is not only supposed to be a criticism towards the Thai government but it is also supposed to be addressing the silence of the people in situations of injustice. The Pink Man stands there with his shopping cart while someone is being hung, as if he was about to go shopping but this event grabbed his attention and so he stayed and watched. If you looked closely at the images, you could see that he looks slightly entertained. The viewers of this art can feel the terror in these images, and we can almost hear the cries of the people, but people are crowding in a circle around a suffering individual as if it was not a dying person, but instead a street performer. This piece was thought-provoking and even made you think about the world today, and how many injustices are occurring at the moment while we sit and watch.

While “Horror in Pink #1” and “Horror in Pink #2” shows the apathy many have towards injustice, the public art that I found on the High Line sheds a light on an injustice. The artist of “Somos 11 Millones/ We Are 11 Million”, Andrea Bowers, addresses the importance of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) by making art based around the fact that 11 million people are undocumented. An immigrant rights activist group, Movimiento Cosecha, came up with slogan “we are 11 millions” which Bowers used for this art piece. The slogan is written in both english and spanish and neon lights are used to write it out. As the daughter of immigrants, seeing art that supports my family and so many other New Yorkers is empowering. The color scheme of the city is very grey and dull, but “Somos 11 Millones” is bright red and large compared to other objects on the high line which makes it difficult to ignore or look away which helps bring awareness to a pressing issue.

Both works of art are criticism towards a government, however the two artists took very different approaches. Both are difficult to ignore, which is important when trying to shed a light on important social justice issues. Artists with intentions to criticize must be able to capture the eye of the viewer and make sure they can never forget what they saw.

Horror in Pink #1 and #2 (6 October 1976 Rightwing Fanatics’ Massacre of Democracy Protesters) by Manit Sriwanichpoom

Somos 11 Millones/ We Are 11 Million (in collaboration with Moviemento Cosecha) by Andrea Bowers